Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) have been reported in fish species from several freshwater environments. However, the mechanisms underlying MPs ingestion by fish are still unclear, although they are important to determine the pathway of MPs along freshwater environments food webs. Here, we investigates a fundamental question of why wild freshwater fish ingest plastic. To address this, we conducted a laboratory experiment to assess MP fragments intake according to color (red, green, yellow, white, black, and blue) by a small omnivorous fish species Psalidodon eigenmanniorum (Characidae). Results showed that yellow and blue were the most consumed fragments, whereas fish avoided white fragments. Although it is not yet clear how plastic coloration relates to the selectivity and feeding of freshwater fish, the visual skills at a species-specific level could plausibly explain why certain colors are attractive or deterrent to a particular fish species. This data set can be used as a screening tool that could help to understand the mechanisms underlying the patterns of plastic ingestion by fish, with special emphasis on the color of plastic particles. Future research on mechanisms MPs intake by fish, also providing a multi-species approach is highly recommended.
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Acknowledgements
JMR thanks Paula Ginevro for lab help.
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Financial support was supplied by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT PICT 2021:00077).
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JMR: original idea, performed the experiment, writing–manuscript. GT: data analysis, writing, and editing. FTM: conceptualization and writing–review and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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This study was conducted according to the bioethics protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the IADIZA and CONICET (protocol approval n° 014/2021). All animals were cared for the Canadian Council on Animal Care - Conseil Canadien de protection des animaux.
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Ríos, J.M., Tesitore, G. & de Mello, F.T. Does color play a predominant role in the intake of microplastics fragments by freshwater fish: an experimental approach with Psalidodon eigenmanniorum. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 49457–49464 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20913-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20913-8